The following days gad been pretty much cool for the most part.
Brom and Eragon go to lunch at a lakeside village while Saphira and Valhir went into hiding. From Eragon told them, Fasaloft (it was the village's name) was a charming place and they got to eat in the hotel's common room where Eragon had listened intently to the gossip. Erik and Saphira were glad to hear that there was no rumors of a Dragon and its rider running around.
Of course, once they resumed their journey, the mood had dropped a lot… Why ? Because of the road : it had grown a lot worse over the days as wagon wheels and iron-shod hooves had teared up the ground, making many spots practically impossible to pass on.
As if it wasn't enough, thanks to a large amount of travelers, Saphira and Erik were both forced to hide during the day to later catch up with their human companions at night. It annoyed the two but it was either this or dealing with Galbatorix and his croonies. For days, the little group journeyed south near Leona Lake's shores. At some point, Eragon had voiced his doubts if they will ever get around it and Erik (or Brom) would answer him that they will eventually.
Thankfully, their mood brightened when Brom and Eragon (Erik went into hiding) met some men who told them that Dras-Leona was a day's ride ahead of them. Eragon and Erik were both excited because soon, they will face the Ra'zacs and deal with them.
Later, the young Rider had told both Erik and Saphira about what he should do after killing the Ra'zacs : should he join the Vardens alongside Brom ? Or hide in Surda, hoping that the King wouldn't track him there ?
The Massive White Bear told him that the choice was his and his alone but regardless of his choice, he would be there with him… something Saphira also said in comfort. Eragon had thanked them warmly for this as he was glad to have their support.
Apart of that, the rest of the trip was pretty much annoying.
So many farmers on the road with Erik and Saphira forced to hide to avoid being seen… Brom and Eragon were also annoyed because the amount of people forced them to slow down their horses to avoid accidents.
One day, just before noon, they saw smokes in the distance but sadly, it took them another large league before the city was clearly visible to them. Unlike Teirm, Dras-Leona was a big mess : ramshackle buildings sitting on crooked streets and the entire place was surrounded by a dirty, pale
yellow wall of mud.
But what caught Erik's attention was what was in the distance : east of the city stood a mountain of bare rock spearing the sky with spires and columns. The sides seemed to rise out of the ground like a jagged piece of the earth's bone.
The Bear had growled in hatred at the mountain as he knew what it was : Helgrind.
The place where those damn Lethrblakas and Ra'zacs lived…
Their lair.
He wanted nothing more than to rush there and level this whole place to the ground… but managed to restrain himself for now.
Beside, it's not like the Ra'zacs would go anywhere else at the moment…
After shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he and Saphira both watched from the distance as their human companions went toward the city… while holding themselves from going after them. This place was a lot more dangerous that the last ones they went as it was near the lair of their enemies…
But one again, the two were forced to stay hidden to not attract unwanted attention.
Once the two humans were out of sight, the White Bear and the Blue Dragoness went away to find a place to settle down, knowing that it will surely take time before they would be reunited with Brom and Eragon. Soon enough they found one… far away from the village but close enough to have a good view of it.
'I don't like this...' Saphira said after a moment of silence with a voice filled with agitation and worry.
"What do you mean ?" Erik asked her with a curious raised eyebrow.
'Mt rider… he is once again all alone in a hostile place… I'm worried that he will once again look for trouble...or that something is going to happen…' the Dragoness explained to her furry companion.
"I understand your concern... Even though Eragon is stronger and wiser than he was at the start of this quest, he remains naive, reckless and foolish... I also worry for his safety... especially since we are literally not far from the lair of our prey !" the White Bear said back to his scaly sister-in-all-but-blood.
'What about Brom ?' she asked him curiously while titling her head to the side.
Erik huffed loudly before responding with a smile "He may be an old fossil... but Brom can still take care of himself... that Old Fox has more than one trick up his sleeve !"
Somewhere in Dras-Leona, Brom sneezed loudly.
Saphira snorted in amusement but our hero could detect her agreement through the link. Erik then looked back toward the city and once again, he felt like he should go there and destroy it completely. It was surely the Volibear's side of his body speaking and he had a bit of trouble to restrain his urge.
Even if so far, he succeeded.
Then, a noise near him made our hero regain his senses and he turned his head to look at what was causing it. It was none other than Saphira who was now back on her feet, spreading her wings.
"Where are you going ?" he asked her curiously.
'I'm going to hunt...' the Dragoness answered while flapping her wings.
However, as she readied herself to take off, our hero stopped her.
"Wait ! I will go instead and you can stay here to watch over the city !"
Saphira stopped moving and her beautiful eyes looked at him questioningly
'Why ?' she asked him in an intrigued tone… along with a hint of suspicion.
"You have better eyesight than me to begin with...and secondly, you caught prey for both of us last night, so it's only fair that it's my turn now !" Erik answered truthfully with a shrug.
Saphira was silent for a moment then lay down on the ground, folding her wings against her sides before looking at him again.
'Fine… I want a big juicy deer !' she told him in a demanding tone… like a child wanting a candy.
Feeling playful, the Massive White Bear decided to play along.
"But of course, oh great Queen of the Sky..." Erik said in a respectful tone along with a bow.
It was fake of course… but sadly, he might have made a mistake doing that.
Why ?
Because, as he straightened up, Saphira hummed in thought before saying something that caused him to pause in horror.
'Queen of the Sky, huh ? I like that nickname...'
Erik stared at her blankly for a moment… before slapping his face with a hand, muttering to himself.
"Me and my big mouth… I should have shut up… Now she's going to become even more unbearable..."
Saphira sharply turned her head to look at him with narrowed eyes as a slight rumble could be heard coming from her throat.
'I heard that !' she hissed at him with a twitching left eye, showing her annoyance.
"You were meant to !" Erik replied back cheekily which caused the Dragoness to huff in annoyance.
'Oh you furball, off with you !' Saphira growled with a hint of playfulness while using her tail to push him away.
"I'm going, I'm going…" Erik chuckled in amusement as he went on all four before rushing away.
As he walked through a world of plants and rocks, Erik smelled the air, hoping to catch the scents of any animals who were unfortunate enough to be around. He smelled many creatures, but two scents caught his attention: one belonged to an animal and the other to a delicious treat that the bears loved.
Honey !
Erik couldn't restrain himself from licking his lips in anticipation as it had been a while since he last had honey on the menu. The White Bear was about to follow the scent… only to pause as he went deep in thought : if he goes after the honey, he might end up full and slower… which mean he wouldn't be able to catch anything for Saphira !
With a growl of defeat, the White Bear decided to follow the other scent who strangely belonged to the very animal the young Dragoness wanted to eat : a deer.
With a smirk, Erik went after the scent… even if internally, he was sad to not have the joy of eating some honey… Maybe he will have time to go have some later.
As the moon was slowly appearing in the sky, the Massive White Bear returned back to the place where Saphira and himself chose as settlement with a large buck in one hand… and and a hive full of honey on the other. He had killed two deers, a doe and a buck and he had chosen to feast on the first while deciding give the second for his draconic friend/sister.
Speaking of Saphira, she was still laying on the ground, watching over the city of Dras-Leona… but then, turned her head to look at him once she heard footsteps approaching her.
'Welcome back ! Was the hunting good ?' she asked him curiously.
"Pretty good, yes… Here, for you !" Erik answered while tossing her the buck he killed.
Saphira caught it in the air with her jaws while saying to him telepathically
'Thank you !'
"No problem..." the Bear said while sitting down on the ground, still holding the large hive in his clawed hands (or it is paws ?).
'Didn't you catch anything for yourself ? And what is this ?' Saphira asked him with a frown of confusion as she looked at him, glancing briefly at the thing in his hands.
"In addition to the deer, I killed a doe and ate it... as for this, my dear Saphira... It's the most delicious treat you can find in the world !" Erik answered her with a hint of excitement in his tone, licking his lips in anticipation.
The young Dragoness looked intrigued by this and asked 'Can I have some of this after I eat the deer ?'
"Of course !" Erik replied with a nod to which Saphira smiled in appreciation before feasting on her dinner.
The Bear patiently waited until she finished the last remnant of the deer… before slashing the hive open. Instantly, he started salivating at the sight of the sweet, viscous dark golden liquid in front of him but he managed to prevent himself from eating it.
Turning his head, he saw that Saphira was now standing right next to him, her eyes focused on the thing in his hands.
"Here… Have the first taste~" Erik told her in a gentle and encouraging tone.
The Dragoness glanced at him with gratefulness and joy before looking down at the destroyed hive… and licking the golden liquid. Her blue eyes widened as she got her first taste of honey and Erik could hear her purring in ravishment.
"So… What do you think ?" Erik asked her with a smirk.
'Its delicious ! So sweet !' She replied through the link while licking her lips.
"I'm glad you like it !" the Bear said with ravishment before the two of them ate the honey.
Hums and purrs could be heard in the air as they enjoyed the golden liquid.
Soon enough, there was no more honey and our two friends were licking their lips to taste the last remnants of it.
"It had been so long… and despite this, I still LOVE honey !" Erik commented with his back pressed against a rock, rubbing his belly with contentment.
Laying next to him with Saphira who looked just like him… except for the belly rubbing part.
'Yeah… too bad there aren't any more !' the Dragoness huffed with slight sorrow.
"You really loved that, did you ?" Erik asked her with a grin.
'It was amazing !' was her answer.
"I'm glad you liked it ! Now, did you have any calls from You-Know-Who ?" he asked her in a more serious tone.
'Oh right ! Not long before you came, Eragon contacted me : him and Brom went somewhere to have a drink… and they both plan to spend some time here to gather informations on what's happening and supply lines of the Empire...' Saphira explained to him with a tiny smirk on her face.
"Oh really ? I'm already imagining their states tomorrow morning~" Erik couldn't help but commenting with a smirk of his own.
'Me too…' Saphira said with a laugh of amusement as she sent him an image of a drunk Eragon… to which he laughed loudly in amusement.
"Hey Saphy… Want to see something fun ?" Erik suddenly asked her after a minute of laughs.
'Sure… What is it ?' she asked him with curiosity.
"You will have to wait until tomorrow… I'm going to kill two birds with one stone : we will have fun AND I get to teach a lesson to these two about drinking on the job~" Erik answered with a dark smirk and a maniacal cackle.
Saphira felt like her rider and Brom were doomed somehow… but she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't curious about what she had in mind.
00/(Time Skip)/00
The sun was slowly rising in the sky as Eragon and Brom were sleeping peacefully in their beds, still under the effects of the alcohol they drank the night before.
And the two of them would still be asleep… if they were not waken up by a bellow in their mind.
' WAKE UP, YOU STUPID HUMANS !'
At the voice, Brom woke up screaming in alarm, before falling out of bed, tangled in the covers while Eragon was currently curled up in a ball, hands over his ears as a pained expression crossed his face.
"Too loud…" the young Rider mumbled in pain.
Unfortunately for them, the voice seemed to ignore their pain and kept shouting in their mind.
'YOU IDIOTS ! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO DRINK IN THE MIDDLE OF SUCH A HOSTILE CITY ?! SERIOUSLY, WERE IS YOUR COMMON SENSES ?! ESPECIALLY YOU, OLD MAN ?!'
'You furry bastard ! I'm going to skin you then use that fur of yours to make myself a new coat for winter !' Brom roared at the one responsible for waking them up so brutally before groaning in pain as a strong headache overcome him.
'Why did you do that, Valhir?!' Eragon hissed painfully at the Bear, having recognized the voice's owner as well.
'Fortwo reasons : the first, to teach you both a lesson… and the second… because it is fun~'
Eragon could practically feel the Bear's smugness and amusement through the link and his face reddened in embarrassment, annoyance and slight anger.
Speaking of the bear, Erik cut the connection a few seconds after he said those words and turned his head to stare in amusement at the laughing Dragoness beside him.
'When you told me of what you had in store for them, I didn't expected it to be so amusing !' Saphira managed to say while laughing like a maniac.
"What can I say ? I aim to please~" Erik retorted with a wide teasing grin.
'You know these two are going to be mad at you for a while, right ?' Saphira asked him with a twinkle in her blue eyes.
"Maybe… but they still needed to be scolded for their stupidity… It would have happened sooner or later… I just did the scowling sooner..." Erik replied with a shrug.
'Indeed you did… You know, it was fun to hear you scolding Brom like a child...but what made me laugh so much was their reactions !'
"Like I said, I aim to please~"
Like Saphira predicted, Eragon and Brom were mad at him for the entire day but they did avoid to drink again… maybe in fear of him screaming in their mind again. Which was amusing to our two non-human friends. While Brom and Eragon were having fun in Dras-Leona, Saphira and Erik were following the same schedule : waking up in the morning, hunting, training, hunting for lunch, training while hiding from everyone, hunting for dinner and sleeping.
From time to time, they would enjoy a nice nap between hunts and training sessions.
But, a few days after their arrival, Erik smelt something that caused him to freeze during a training session. The scent had been carried by the wind and his nose caught it just as he was teaching Saphira about the best way to have honey (yes, she was in love for the stuff).
"Saphira…they are here..." Erik said in a grave tone as he turned his large head to look at where the city was.
'Who?' the Dragoness asked him in concern and wariness. In concern because her mentor or brother-in-all-but-blood had just frozen while telling her something important and wariness because of the tone he used.
"The Ra'zacs… They are in the city !"
(To be continue…)